Foil: 11 Panel: 1 Column: 1 Line: 7

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Mark & Jean Greaves

Robert F. Harris was born September 19, 1915, and grew up in West Virginia and Virginia. In 1937 he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Engineering. In 1938 he joined the Army Air Corps, completing basic flight training at Randolph Field and advanced flight training at Kelly Field, both in Texas. In 1938 he worked as a flight instructor at Randolph Field. During this time he met Parker Barret, a school teacher who became his wife, mother of his two children, and partner of 66 years, until her death in 2006. When he received his regular commission in the Army Air Corps in 1940, he was one of only 1,000 pilots in the entire Air Corps, and was outranked by only 2,300 officers.
In 1942 he was attached to the 8th Air Force and was deployed to England as part of the United States forces fighting World War II. He was the group commander for the 8th Air Force 1943-45, flying B-24's and B-17's in the bombing of Munich. He was the Army Air Corps Senior Officer to Denmark from 1944-45, and in charge of the Corps in Denmark from 1945-46. For his service during the war, Colonel Harris was awarded the distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Cluster, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, and was selected by Charles DeGaulle to receive La Croix de Guerre avec Palme.
In 1946, Colonel Harris graduated from the Armed Forces Staff College and worked as Operations Officer at Hamilton Field, California, from 1947-49. He was the Deputy Wing Commander of the 81st Fighter Wing from 1949-52, Inspector General of the US Air Force in Europe from 1952-54, and went on to graduate from the Air War College at Maxwell AFB in Alabama. From 1955 until he retired from the Air Force in 1957, Colonel Harris worked at the Pentagon commanding the Air Force's non-commissioned officers.
After retiring from the Air Force, Colonel Harris worked as an engineer for the Boeing Aircraft Company. Among various projects, he designed the A-10 Warthog, the first Air Force aircraft specially designed for close air support of ground forces. Colonel Harris retired from Boeing in 1976, and has since resided in or near San Antonio, Texas.